Download Women, business and financial inclusion

A PAPER PRESENTED ON WOMEN, BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN AFRICA AT THE
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON WOMEN AND THE POST 2015 DEVELOPMENT AGENDA: The
Challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
BY MRS. MENGA ROSALINE.
Date: Friday 22nd May 2015
Venue: The Church Village, Via di Torre Rossa 94 Rome
INTRODUCTION
The African continent has witnessed a very slow economic growth during the last century. The
reasons for this are numerous notably wars, illiteracy, poverty, diseases, colonization, exploitation
by the West of the rich natural resources, bad governance, unfavorable traditional practices, and
discrimination. All these have hampered meaningful development. In many African countries
women have always been active in agriculture, trade, and other economic pursuits, but a majority of
them are in the informal labor force. Many of them are illiterates and live in poor rural communities.
They often do not enjoy equal opportunities with men. The attitudes towards women, by both men
and women themselves, have often suppressed the development and advancement of women. The
economic policies of many African countries are yet to provide low-income households and other
vulnerable groups enough opportunities to improve on their living standards in terms of economic
indicators. Their existing socio cultural norms have so far restricted girls’ and women’s access to
education, training and employment opportunities. Dropout rates in the primary grades are higher
for girls than for boys in many African countries. In Tanzania, for instance, half of the school
dropouts each year are girls of 12 to 14 years who have to leave school because of pregnancies.
Child marriages are also very common in Africa. Although the law in many African countries does
not allow girls under 16 to be married, poor parents consider it as a source of income.
African governments themselves have done very little to promote women’s participation in the
economic sector, training and employment. Women are guardians of their children’s welfare and
have explicit responsibility to provide for them materially. They are the household managers
providing food, nutrition, water, health, education and family planning to an extent greater than
elsewhere in the developing world. This places heavy burden on them. Lack of resources and
pressures on time and energies put enormous constraints on the ability of women to maintain their
own health and nutrition as well as that of their children. Inheritance land rights have remained the
reserve of the boy child and men. Women in Africa are often overlooked in key economic
development, yet they make vital contribution to the global economy. In only three African
countries - Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda - do women take part in business at rates equal to men and
even then they do not reach their potential. An overview of the current situation in Africa on
women and economic development and financial inclusion will help us appreciate the stark reality in
which the African woman finds herself.
The African Woman and the Economic Development Dilemma - An Overview
One of the major areas in which we see how deprived the African woman is in terms of economic
growth and development is in the area of Financial inclusion. According to the ADB Staff Report,
Africa has been lagging behind other continents in Financial Inclusion. Less than 1 adult out of 4 in
Africa have access to an account in a formal financial institution (ADB Staff Report). Unequal access
to education and training opportunities also has led to low proportions of women in the formal
sector and their much concentration in low paid jobs with limited career prospects. Even when
parents can be persuaded of the value of sending their girls to school, there remain the problems of
helping the girls to complete their studies. Sandra Taylor and Narjess Boubakri examine that
women are less likely to use formal financial services mainly because they have lower incomes, are
less educated and are more likely to operate in the informal sector despite developments such as
improved agricultural technology and changes in women’s socio economic status.
Women’s economic capabilities, and in particular their ability to manage family welfare, are being
threatened. “Modernization” has shifted the balance of advantage against women. The legal
framework and the modern social sector and producer services developed by the independent
African countries have not also served women well. So, although women play an important role in
African society, they suffer legal, economic and social constraints. Indeed some laws still treat them
as minors. In Democratic Republic of Congo for instance, a woman must have her husband’s consent
to open a bank account. Women are known to grow 80% of food in Africa, and yet few are allowed
to own the land they work on. It is often more difficult for women to gain access to information and
technology, resources and credit than men. Agricultural extension and formal financial institutions
loan policies favor men the most despite women’s importance as producers. Women end up
working twice as long as men 15 to 18 hours a day, but often earn only one tenth as much. With
such workloads women often age prematurely.
In industry and trade, women have been confined to small-scale operations in the informal sector,
however vibrant these operators are and despite the trading empire built up by the most successful
female entrepreneurs, women’s average income are relatively low. Inclusive employment therefore
remains a major factor for every economic system oriented towards justice and the common good.
But the reverse is the case with most African families. Women’s “double shift”, at home and at
work, undoubtedly affects their professional progress. Their home shift may in most cases include
caring for parents, in-laws and younger siblings.
Women are also handicapped to access to formal sector jobs by their lower educational
attainments. More than two-thirds of Africa’s illiterates are women (UNESCO 1991). Women are
regarded as inferior to men and are not expected to aspire as high as men, especially in what is
considered as “male” fields such as engineering, computing, architecture, medicines etc. It is largely
assumed that educating women would make them too independent. As a result, women are less
well equipped than men to take advantage of the better income-earnings and opportunities that
have emerged in Africa. There is often more respect for male professionals even from women
themselves than there is for the female. In addition women often have to work twice as hard as
men to prove that they are also capable of doing their jobs well.
Despite all this the role of women is often taken for granted. There is often a conflict between the
three roles of mother, wife and employee which causes many to feel a sense of guilt and give up
employment. Many African countries have achieved high growth rates over the past decades, and
aspire to structural transformation. But despite this growth the “Arab Spring” events showed that
good economic growth in the continent had, not translated into significant poverty reduction,
shared prosperity and better livelihoods for the majority. The church’s social teaching states:
“Nothing that concerns the community of men and women’s situation and problems
regarding justice, freedom, development, relations between people, and peace is
foreign to evangelization because, profound links exists between evangelization and
human promotion. Therefore the family must rightfully be seen as an essential agent
of economic life, guided not by the market mentality but by the logic and sharing
among generations. A better-educated workforce is a key to active participation in a
globalized world. They range from programs that support women’s legal rights to
rural programs that support sustainable development and resource management”.
A number of studies have been done on women’s under-representation in the scientific and
technical fields, by ATRCW (1986), Harding (1987), Lockheed and Gorman (1987), etc. Some of the
factors which they state influence women’s participation are prejudices about women’s abilities and
attitudes, their roles, their behavior and aspirations, culture, politics and society, absence of role
models, parental expectations, beliefs, attitude and home environment, teacher attitudes and
behaviors, curriculum, career guidance, employer attitudes, lack of books and resource materials,
lack of educational and training facilities, lack of quotas, lack of exposure to technically oriented
subjects, group pressure at home and at school, classroom interactions between boys and girls, and
lack of confidence to try new things. Women’s general literacy rate and scientific and technological
knowledge have to be addressed before any progress can be achieved sustainably. Interestingly,
the dynamics of the global workforce have experienced some improvements. An increasing number
of ambitious, educated and talented women in Africa are entering the business world with great
drive and even greater career aspirations. Unfortunately despite this influx, many corporations still
struggle to discourage their female talent.
CASE STUDY: A CASE STUDY OF WOMEN’S BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN CAMEROON
After having presented an overview of the challenges women in Africa face in relation to Business
and economic development, I would like us to look at the Cameroon situation, being a Cameroonian
myself before looking at the way forward for the African woman. In Cameroon, exclusion from
financial services is particularly acute in the agricultural sector, which employs about 60% of the
country’s population, a majority of whom are women. This is principally because of the high cost of
establishing branches of formal financial institutions in sparsely populated areas. VENTURES AFRICA
– The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has recently
announced an advisory service agreement with Micro Finance Institute; Advance Cameroon geared
at expediting the rate of financial inclusion in Cameroon by expanding the range and reach of
services available to underserved urban and rural population. This agreement is under the umbrella
of Partnership for finance inclusion, a $37.4 million joint initiative by the IFC and the Master Card
Foundation set up to scale up “Commercial Microfinance and develop mobile financial services to
increase financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa.
THE WAY FORWARD: SOME RECOMMENDATIONS
After having given an overview of the current reality of the African woman in terms of business,
economic development and financial inclusion, and briefly reflected on the Cameroon situation, the
question we would like to address is: What is the way forward. I have a few recommendations:
a) Financial Inclusion: One key component of inclusive development which Africa has been
lagging behind other continents as I mentioned earlier in this paper is financial inclusion.
The concept of inclusive growth is multifaceted and has financial inclusion as one of its main
building blocks. Financial inclusion is a multidimensional concept that encompasses all
initiatives from both supply and demand sides, within the financial sector. Financial inclusion
is therefore necessary to ensure that economic performance is inclusive and sustained. This
will promote initiatives that make formal financial services available, accessible and
affordable to all segments of the population that have been historically excluded from the
formal financial sector either because of their income level, gender, location, type of activity
or level of financial literacy. Angela Hansen takes stock of financial inclusion for rural areas
and agriculture in Africa. She predicts that new model based value chain funding (VCF) and
information and communication technology (ICT) will have a transformative role in
expanding financial inclusion for agriculture and rural development in Africa. As cited by the
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church No. 62.” The way people live together in
society often determines the quality of life and therefore the conditions in which every man
and woman understand themselves and make decisions concerning themselves and their
vocations. For this reason, the church is not indifferent to what is decided, brought about or
experienced in society; ………. and with it, politics, the economy, labor, law, culture- is not
simply a circular and worldly reality, and therefore outside or foreign to the message and
economy of salvation……….. Society is made up of men and women who are the primary and
fundamental way for the church”. This doctrine discourages sex-stereotyping on the parts
of parents, educators, religion, media and the society at large who have the belief and
impression that certain jobs are exclusively for men, and women’s own lack of confidence
that discourages their entry into certain fields and jobs.
b) The need for Effective and Authentic Family Policies that respect the rights of all: The
church proposes that the family should have authentic and effective family policies that are
able to meet the needs and respect the rights of all. Therefore work for instance should not
be discriminatory; it should give all family members equal rights to property and contribute
to the good of the entire family. Narrowing the gender gap in employment will increase
global income per person by as much as 20% by 2030. Giving women a greater stake in the
economy of their countries to set up their own well structured enterprises will enable them
to be employed, earn an income, contribute to their own financial stability and that of their
families in whatever way they choose.
c) Investing in our collective Future: In emerging markets women re-invest 90% of their
earnings in their families and communities. This means investing in women is an investment
in our collective future. “Investing in business women will boost the economy for everyone”
(Tony Burch).
Women are crucial to the economic growth around the world.
According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, there are 126 million women operating
new businesses and another 98 million at the helm of established ones. Yet we face a huge
equality gap. There is certainly a need for more education and training opportunities for girls
and women in Africa both for overall national development and to improve their quality of
life. It has often been said that, if there were more female lecturers who could act as role
models to girls, these would possibly bring an increase in the number of girls attending and
completing school.
d) Women and Entrepreneurial Education. Cardinal Turkson, Former Archbishop of Cape Coast
Ghana and President of the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace in Launching the English
Version of Vocation of the Business Leader: A Reflection at the 8th International Conference
on Catholic Social Thought and Management Education at the University of Dayton(June 1820, 2012) highlighted the importance of Christian Business or Entrepreneurship in serving
the common good and enhancing co-creation, service, solidarity and sustainability. The
vocation of The Business Leader is a document worth exploring by all of us especially
women. As a way forward for sustainability, women need entrepreneurial education.
Winning business concepts are just as likely to be conceived at the kitchen tables as in the
garage or at business schools. Research shows that women doubt their capabilities and fear
failure more than men. Training can equip them with the confidence to see bold ideas
through.
e) Economic Opportunities for women: The United States reaffirmed its belief in the
importance of economic opportunities for women at the G.S Forum for the future, where the
world’s leading developed countries declared that “equality between men and women as
well as access to modernization and prosperity will empower the women economically and
enhance sustainable development”.
This therefore means that for sustainable and inclusive development to thrive, a great deal
of innovation and thinking is needed to ensure that appropriate financial services and
instruments are put in place, for the benefit of the poor and other vulnerable groups. There
is need to enable them to develop their capacity, strengthen their human and physical
capacity, engage in income-generating activities, manage risks associated with their
livelihoods and be informed about existing opportunities and specific challenges that need
attention and actions in the Legal and Regulatory Frameworks preventing women from
accessing and using financial products and services in Africa. There is a need to reform
regulatory frameworks and promote positive changes in the cultural norms, study women
specific needs and create adapted financial products and services, encourage innovation,
create support programs for women’s entrepreneurship, institute laws that protect female
farmers by securing their land tenure, develop pilot buyers and food company value chain
efforts, build transparent pricing platforms, and strengthen large-scale cooperatives. Most
women don’t have these supports.
f) “Forward Actors Programs”: Programs should be designed at the various country level to
reinforce actions by policy makers, traditional rulers, church leaders, parents, educational
authorities to promote positive and favorable actions that strengthen women and girls
economic advancement. Women’s general literacy rate and scientific and technological
knowledge have to be addressed before anything can be achieved. However it will be a
tactful error to introduce programs only for women. Expanding the benefits of microfinance,
to even more women will mean providing services to the extremely poor, creating safe and
accessible savings instruments, using microfinance groups as a vehicle to address the
HIV/AIDS crisis, and promoting women as leaders in the microfinance industry.
CONCLUSION
Recognizing that investing in women and girls, can contribute to significant poverty
reduction and promote economic growth will enable women to participate actively in
employment opportunities to enable them pursue a career and raise a family. There is no
doubt that things are slowly changing for women in Africa. More women are joining the
formal sector of the economy (especially the public sector). More girls are continuing to
higher education and joining technical courses. More women can be found in the
management hierarchy. More women are moving in professions so far dominated by men
and more women are becoming self employed in the years to come. Secondly interest in and
dedication to promoting financial inclusion has grown dramatically in recent years, as seen in
the number of countries that committed to the Maya Declaration and the G-20 Financial
Inclusion Action Plan, as well as strategies and targets set by individual governments to trade
progress in achieving more inclusive financial system. Finally the world needs women
entrepreneurs, and women entrepreneurs need all of us. It is time to provide the support
and tools to ensure that in 2016 and beyond, women led businesses flourish. It is only then
that we can talk of any meaningful sustainable development goals.
THANK YOU.